Genma-sensei
by Dareagon
Summary: What if Kakashi was not team 7's sensei? What if that job was given to someone else?


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I just wish I did.

Beta: the lovely **Midnight-Kitsune11**.

**Genma-sensei**

Dear Kami, Genma thought as he studied the three kids before him; this team would either die on their first mission out of the village or they'd become a team greater than the Sannin.

He'd rushed to the Academy after his urgent meeting with the Hokage. What had been discussed had taken him by surprise. He'd known that he would be offered a genin team at some point, but he had thought he'd have a choice in the matter, to be honest. But no, because Kakashi had had a minor breakdown (and that was saying something, knowing the guy) when presented with his new team (and the Hokage had not giving him the option of failing them this time), Genma had been called in last minute to take over from him.

And what a team he'd been given…

They had so much potential, if only any one of them didn't seem like they were playing around.

The blond was loud and honestly… even from Genma's point of view, quite annoying. Though he had to give credit where it was due, both Uzumaki and Haruno seemed to be competing to see who was loudest. He'd have constant headaches with this team.

But this kid… he had huge chakra reserves. The chakra was leaking off him in such an amount that Genma had felt it before he even entered the Academy building. The dense and potent chakra seems so big it burst out of the seams that were made up out of the boy's body. It would be a miracle if that boy even knew what chakra control was! He had more chakra then any chuunin and probably even some jounin in the village. The easy (genin-approved) jutsu would probably be too difficult for him. Ironically, the harder the justu (in other words: the more chakra it required) the easier it would be for the kid to learn.

Coupled with the zero attention span the boy seemed to have… That might be disastrous if left alone, and going by what Genma had observed of his team, the kid was either really stupid, or he had never really been taught anything… which was the most urgent matter he'd have to address concerning the kid, because, honestly anyone who could learn the Kage Bunshihn no Jutsu in less than two hours could not be that stupid.

Speaking (or thinking really) of that jutsu, it presented him with a very unorthodox new training regimen for the kid. If rumour was to be believed the kid had created way more clones than anyone had expected of him the night he'd taken the secret scroll. Training the kid like that could speed up their program a lot. That could be fun.

But why on earth was he dressed like an orange? Sure you can like a colour, but you can't bathe in it… or at least, that shouldn't be possible. Not for an active shinobi…

The Uchiha seemed the complete opposite of his male team-mate, and not only in colouring. They were different like day and night. Genma had read his file and, if his Academy teachers could be believed, the kid was the prodigy of his generations. Being a Uchiha (even after the massacre), Genma didn't doubt the kid was stronger than the other kids of his class, but he wasn't sure if the term prodigy was accurate.

He hoped not.

It was difficult to say though. The last two prodigies graduated the Academy early, but seeing their cases had led to the Hokage forbidding early graduations. Itachi had clearly lost it, the stress becoming too much on his eleven year old mind and he had killed almost his entire clan. Not a good role model for anyone, let alone the one kid in his clan Itachi didn't kill.

The other prodigy had been Kakashi but that guy's issues were almost legendary. Genma liked Kakashi and was glad to call the man his friend, but he'd be first to admit that the Copy nin was by far one of the most… troubled souls of the village. The man had been through a lot, too much probably. Starting by his father killing himself after going missing when Kakashi had been what…? Five?

It didn't set a good precedent for this latest little genius.

Given what Itachi had done, the kid didn't get a good start against the odds, and his file had raised some red flags with Genma. The kid didn't socialise. At all. He barely even answered when his teachers at the Academy asked him anything. And if he voluntarily talked? It was usually to insult others… Complete apathy, and no empathy for others whatsoever… If this team didn't give him any new ties to the village the kid would become a flight risk. All he wanted was to grow stronger, and Genma could help him with that. The Uchiha had already learned a few Katon jutsu which showed that, while not perfect, he'd at least have some chakra control. He could even ask some of the other jounin to help when the kid needed some specialised training. No, his greatest challenge here was teaching the kid to form bonds with other people again, to show him that such attachments weren't a weakness, but a power that made you stronger.

He'd need to teach the boy to care again which would be the real challenge in this team - getting these three kids to care about each other and act like a team.

… ?

And then there was the girl… She was a whole different kind of problem…

Who on earth had recommended her for gen- and iryo ninjutsu? With her temper that much out of control, neither was a realistic goal for her. No matter how good her chakra control was.

Genma eyed her thoughtfully. Even now, with her sitting barely three feet from him, he could barely sense her chakra (and not only because the blond kid next to here was oozing the stuff). Even after basic training in the Academy her chakra reserves were barely bigger than a civilian, so that could explain the 'perfect chakra control' mark he had seen in her file. It was easier to control a faucet than a river after all. She'd need some very intensive training to make those reserves bigger so she could actually use chakra efficiently in battle. Because right now, most shinobi would think her to be a civilian playing ninja.

She was strong all right, he noted as she bashed Uzumaki on the head for the third time since he met them, but that temper really needed work. Personally he'd never been a big fan of the no-emotions-rule for shinobi, but this was the complete opposite. Both genjutsu and Iryo ninjutsu needed a calm and collected mind. Sure, if she worked hard at it, she could do it if she really wanted to, but this would not be an easy job for someone whose personality seemed to explode faster than the Yondaime had ever been able to use the Hiraishin.

Not to mention that, as far as he could see, the girl was not subtle at all and was really, typical fangirl which made her predictable as well – not a good combination if you wanted to go into genjutsu specialization. Not to mention he wouldn't subject anyone to what he could only assume would be violent bedside manners if she went into healing.

Did they really not take the children's personalities into account when they made those recommendations?

All in all, this team was a nightmare waiting to happen and somehow the Hokage wanted to make them into functional members of a shinobi society? Well, he'd always liked a challenge.

She hit Uzumaki again.

"Please stop hitting your team-mate. You've hit him exactly four times since I've met you guys. If this continues on, I'll have to step in." He finally spoke up.

He would not stand for such team-mate abuse. Sparring was different of course, but this? If the boy wasn't a Jinjuuriki, Genma would have had to carry him to the hospital and they'd have been lucky if he'd have been only heavily concussed. Not that Uzumaki being a Jinjuuriki made this okay, far from it, but it seemed to have silent the two talkers of the team, at least.

"My name is Shiranui Genma, and after the guy who was supposed to be your teacher bolted, I got pulled from active duty to teach you kids."

Not entirely the truth, but from what Genma had heard Kakashi had had a minor breakdown at the idea of teaching his sensei's kid and Obito's cousin, so the Hokage had asked Genma to teach this generation's trouble team.

The kids looked both confused and outraged at the same time.

Wait until they heard what he had to say next. He had gotten some special concessions from the Hokage; the man had ambushed Genma with this at the last possible second after all. He'd barely left the leader's office before he'd had to go to the Academy to meet his new team…

"Now, most freshly graduated genin are put through a test by their new sensei to see if they are worthy of being genin. Personally, I'm not sure that is a sufficient way to determine if someone has what it take to become a shinobi."

"What?" asked the blond, confused.

Genma had to fight to reign in the sigh that threatened to escape him. Fresh genin (with one who seemed to be further behind than even he had feared)...He would need to adapt his vocabulary.

"I mean that my test is going to be different from what your classmates will go through. You will only be considered official genin after you pass this test."

"Why would we need to pass another test?" the girl asked in confusion. "We just graduated from the Academy. Isn't that a bit much?"

The Uchiha grunted in agreement and the Uzumaki nodded so quickly Genma was afraid his head would come loose.

"You showed that you have potential by graduating the Academy, but at least half of every graduation class never become genin, because potential alone is not enough. If you are only here to play at being ninja, you'll probably die on your first mission outside the village," He made sure to look the girl straight in the eyes as he said this, "which is why jounin teachers test their team before they officially become genin."

While it wasn't an official rule, every jounin who took a team ended up testing them. Some took testing them more serious than others, some used the same test their own jounin teachers had given them when they became genin (rumour had it that team 7 had been given a bell test for at least 3 generations at least), and then there was Genma… who didn't care what others did. He'd do things his way.

"We'll beat any test you give us!" Uzumaki yelled loudly.

Genma rubbed the skin next to his eyes. Between him and the girl, he'd have a permanent headache.

"However, I have something different in mind." He can't help but grin as he has their attention. "We will be doing some very intense training during the next few months. You have till the end of that period to convince me you are worthy of becoming Konoha shinobi."

"And how long would we be training for?" asked Haruno worried.

He smirked at them. "Six months."

"WHAT?!" The girl screeched.

Uchiha glared harshly at him and Uzumaki seemed both worried and excited at the same time.

"You have six months to convince me. We'll start tomorrow. Meet me at 6 am at training ground 7. Make sure you eat a hearty breakfast." He grinned at them. "You'll need it!"

He arrived at the training ground at 6am precisely. Seeing his three ducklings however, made him raise an eyebrow. None of them was paying him any attention. Had they even noticed he was here? Uchiha seemed either in brooding mode, or he had fallen back asleep without the other two noticing. Uzumaki and Haruno seemed to be… talking? Or at least Uzumaki seemed to be talking while Haruno seemed to be lecturing and she seemed well on her way to losing her temper again. Were they talking about breakfast and dieting?

"NARUTO-BAKA!" And there went her temper again.

"Ack!" the blond made a weird noise as hit his head on the ground.

Genma moved an immediately hit the girl on the head, though not as hard as she had hit her team-mate.

She cried out and fell on the ground as well.

It got all of their attention.

"Sensei!" the blond exclaimed in shock at seeing him.

Why was he shocked? He'd said he'd be here, right? Or was it because Genma had stood up for him? Hmmm...

"Sensei? That hurt, why would you do that?" Haruno whined at him with tears in her eyes.

"I warned you not to hit your team-mate again. I won't tolerate this kind of behaviour from you. In spars? Sure, as long as you don't kill each other or do any permanent damage, I'm all for it, but not like that."

She pouted at him. "This is abuse."

"Exactly, and you've been doing it for what seems like quite a while." He replied, knowing that wasn't what she had meant but ignoring what she implied. "Every time you hit your team-mate outside of training, I'll hit you as well."

She frowned stubbornly, but there was worry to see in her eyes as well. She didn't say anything, but nodded hesitantly.

"Now, let's start with your training." He said while chewing on his senbon. "Let's warm up first with ten laps around the village."

Their eyes widened in shock but none of them seemed to want to protest out loud.

"Chop, chop, we've got a lot to do today, so you'd better get started." He clapped his hands cheerfully.

Just from seeing the looks on their faces, he knew he'd have to thank Gai again later on for his tips. These kids were adorable in their anger.

They kept being adorable throughout the day, and even started cursing him. Well, Uzumaki and Haruno did. The Uchiha only glared at him (like only someone from that family ever could). All it did was bring a smile to his face. However, while to them it seemed like he was lazing around while they worked their butts off, he was actually keeping a very close eye on them, trying to assess what training they needed most.

Statistically Uchiha had the advantage on his team-mates. He was fit, had good training, even if it mostly seemed self-taught, and had started on chakra control (even if he had not specifically trained that aspect, it had probably been a side effect from learning those Katon jutsu.), so even if his personality was raised more alarm bells than the other two, in this sort of thing, he shone.

The other two… Uzumaki seemed to move more like a street brawler then a shinobi. His chakra was flying everywhere at once it seemed, and all in all he gave a very clumsy image. His stamina on the other hand, was phenomenal. The kid was still bouncing with energy when Haruno had collapsed and even now, with both his team-mates laying on the ground struggling to get their breath back, he only seemed mildly tired. No wonder this kid could outrun trained shinobi through the village after a prank.

Haruno was Kunoichi of the year of her graduation class, but she was clearly very book smart. There was nothing wrong with that, and as a shinobi you always had an advantage if you knew that sort of stuff – evading certain laws and finding loopholes in them only worked if you actually knew the laws after all. Still, she had obviously neglected the more physical part of her training, and with her chakra reserves being so small, that meant she couldn't count on that to compensate.

He finally dismissed them just as night fell and all three of them groaned loudly as they fell down in exhaustion.

"Not bad for a first day. You were a bit loud on the complaining though. We'll have to work harder tomorrow if you still had that much energy left over to complain. Gather here again tomorrow, same time."

Uzumaki opened his mouth to protest, but Uchiha harshly poked him in the ribs. All three settled for glaring at him after that. Genma couldn't help but smirk at them.

They might just survive the next six months enough to learn something.

**END.**

This was a story idea I had a while ago. I'll be posting this as a one-shot, unless enough people badger me about continuing.

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